Opting for a comprehensive motor insurance? 5 add-ons you should know

Protection of car, bike or scooter through insurance is mandated by the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. According to the law, all vehicles on the Indian roads should be covered with an effective and sufficient motor insurance policy.

In India, you can easily get a wide range of motor insurance options. However, if you want to make your policy really effective, you need to take add-ons apart from getting a comprehensive policy. For example, one of the add-ons could be a personal accident option that covers the unfortunate event of a vehicle owner's death or disability due to the vehicle's accident.

Naval Goel, CEO & Founder, PolicyX.com said, “As a customer, you don't have to settle for a minimal level of coverage for your prized possession. You can go all out and get an effective motor insurance policy which can easily go well with your needs.”

NCB (No Claim Bonus) is a discount you get on your car insurance premium for every claim-free year. This add-on protects the accumulated No Claim Bonus over the years from going back to zero even after a claim.

Animesh Das, Head of Product Strategy, Acko said that this discount starts from 20 percent and it can go up to 50 percent. In case you make a claim (even if it’s small) then this NCB resets to Zero. NCB protection add-on saves you from this loss of NCB.

“It is advised to go for this add-on if you haven't made claim for last 3 or more years, which translates to 35 percent+ NCB discount,” he added.

Personal Accident Cover

This add-on considerably fills the insurance gap left by the mandatory personal accident cover offered under the comprehensive motor insurance policy. This comes mandatorily with the base vehicle insurance product. The coverage amount is recently updated as Rs 15 Lakh at Rs 750 premium for one year by all insurers.

Devendra Rane, Founder & CTO - Coverfox.com said that by attaching this add-on, one gets additional coverage against accidental death, total permanent disability and partial permanent disability to the owner or driver or unnamed passengers.

“The benefit paid will be over and above the pay-out receivable from the motor insurance policy,” he said.

Zero Depreciation

This add-on is highly recommended to all the new buyers of any kind of motors whether it is a car or bike. It will provide the needful coverage without any deduction. It means with this add-on you will get the coverage on complete cost of repairs of your vehicle parts at the time of a claim. If you own a motor insurance policy with a zero depreciation add-on cover, the insurance company will bear all the expenses pertaining to depreciation.

Roadside Assistance Cover

With this add-on, the insurance company will provide round-the-clock emergency services that include towing, tyre change, refuelling, arranging mechanic among other things. No matter what is the case or situation, it is highly recommended to invest in a roadside assistance cover as it will be there to provide the much-required assistance in case of an emergency.

Engine Protection Cover

It is basically an add-on cover for your vehicle's engine or you can call a ‘rider’ that protects the heart of the vehicle that is the engine. You must be aware that a basic comprehensive motor insurance policy does not offer coverage to the engine of the vehicle. Thus, enhancing your basic comprehensive motor insurance plan with an engine cover is important especially for those who live in areas which are prone to water-logging.

Conclusion

Every add-on comes with a cost which gets added to your premium as soon as you avail it. Make sure that you are not buying any add-ons unnecessarily. Do not pay the extra cost for a thing which you actually do not require.